THE HARVEST MOUSE 569 



near the hedges of stubbles in Kent and Sussex ^ ; in tall 

 sedges by the river Waveney at Gillingham, Norfolk ; and in 

 Marram-Grass on the sea-beach, almost within reach of the 

 spray, at Kessingland, Norfolk %• in straggling Blackthorns 

 beside a ditch (on 30th November) ; and in a plant of common 

 Broom'; upon "laid" barley in Suffolk (several, almost 

 all containing young) * ; affixed to stems of Centaurea nigra ^ ; 

 18 inches from the ground, supported by stems of grass and a 

 few twigs of a hedge surrounding a cornfield, East Lothian * ; 

 and lastly, one on the ground amongst grass and clover.' 



In this country, unlike the nests described by Schlegel 

 (above), the summer nest, which is globular and of about the 

 size of a cricket ball, has no regular aperture for entrance, 

 though the place where the mice find their way in and out 

 through the side or top is sometimes noticeable.* The body of 

 the nest consists of leaves split into short lengths, which 

 naturally contract, shrivel, and become confused together to 

 form a bed. Mr D. English found 250 split lengths in 

 a single nest, and calculated that at least 100 complete 

 leaves had been utilised. When built in corn or reeds, the 

 stalks are used as piles ; the leaves growing from these piles 

 are left attached to their stalks, although they are some- 

 times first split into narrow bands * ; these leaves are inter- 

 woven so as to form the sides or foundation of the nest. 

 Such nests, though no doubt compact enough when in 

 their natural position, are difficult to handle when removed, 

 for owing to their loose cohesion they easily lose their 

 shape and swell in size. Nests built in less convenient or 

 more precarious situations are stronger, and will suffer con- 

 siderable violence without injury on removal ; thus White's 

 nest, from a thistle head, " was so compact and well filled, that 

 it would roll across the table without being discomposed, 



' A. Hussey, loc. cit. 2 Crowfoot in Southwell, Zoologist, 1871, 2756. 



'[ G. T. Rope, Zoologist, 1880, 57. * E. C. Moor, ibid., 1884, 190. 



» Newstead, Proc. Chester Soc. Nat. Sci., iv., 248. 



° W. Evans. ? L. E. Adams {in lit.) 



They probably show entrance-holes when old ; witness one with three apertures 

 inhabited by eight nearly full-grown mice (W. Hewett, Zoologist, 1843, 349). 



" Gloger in White's Selbome, by Bennett, 58, note; cited by Tomes in Bell, 

 ed. ii,, 290. 



VOL. II. 2 O 



